Heart's Absence
by Full Moon Ballad
Summary: No one is as they seem. That is Katara's personal philosophy. But a certain prince's attitude may, unfortunately, lead her to think otherwise.


**TITLE: Heart's Absence**

**SUMMARY: No one is as they seem. That is Katara's personal philosophy. But a certain prince's attitude may, unfortunately, lead her to think otherwise.**

**ZUTARA CONTEST **

**WORD COUNT: 1,557**

**I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. I'm not feeling creative enough to write anything else.**

**O.o.O**

Katara had never believed in the "what you see is what you get" philosophy. It was only for the most shallow of people, she had always thought. There was always something beneath the surface, no matter how thick that surface seemed to be.

Take her companions, for example. A protective oaf of a brother on the outside, an engineering genius on the interior. Then there was the Avatar. No matter how goofy he seemed, he had the inner core of an aged man with wisdom beyond even _his_ belief. And the earth bender, tough and caustic, yet soft and caring when no one was looking.

Always, _always_, there were qualities of a person that could not be seen at first glance. That is until the prince joined their group.

At first, she had been willing to give her former enemy a second chance, because there was always a hidden goodness to a person. No matter what.

Apparently, he had told her, she was just too naïve to know any better. There are bad people in the world, Katara, he had said. Horrible people who would do anything to obtain their desires. The prince had warned her that he was one of them and left it at that.

Nevertheless, this did not deter her. She had a mission: to seek the good in everyone. She would not treat the prince any differently than anyone else in the group.

During the first week of the prince's stay, she had tried several times to strike up conversation with him. And soon learned that he was "not the talking type" as he had explained it. So she tried a different tactic: food. It was said that the key to a man's heart is his stomach, and with Sokka as evidence, she had worked up a whole banquet of Fire Nation treats to surprise the prince, to perhaps persuade him into some stories of his childhood and what he had enjoyed the most.

He said he didn't really care for his nation's cuisine and refused to eat.

Frustrated beyond belief, but not yet willing to accept defeat, Katara had spent more than a few days thinking of a new plan. She offered to spar with the prince - Zuko, she reminded herself, it's just Zuko now - but he had declined, saying something about not feeling up to it. Monkeyfeathers! Zuko was _always_ up for a fight!

After the obvious fail of Plan C, she had taken a hiatus. If Zuko wanted her to think of him as a bad person, so be it. She had better things to worry about, like training Aang and planning for Sozin's Comet. Katara had pushed her personal mission to the back of her mind and focused back to more important events.

**O.o.O**

The comet came and went, the war finally ended, as they all knew it would. The cheer and happiness settled around the nations with a radiating blanket of warmth and brotherhood. Nothing could go wrong now. The bad guys were gone. Everything was finally the way it was meant to be.

Until Iroh died. That changed everything.

An assassination, the Fire Council said, nothing unusual. But a grave loss, indeed. Our condolences to the family.

This had burned Katara to no end. How could the people of this great man's nation just sweep him under the rug like dirt? How could they disregard him as if he had meant nothing? But then she realized that she couldn't worry about that…there was Zuko to deal with.

Since the old man's death, Zuko had kept to himself, constantly shutting himself up in his room, speaking to no one. Aang, Mai, and Sokka had all tried - and failed - to make him talk. Not even Katara's gentle coaxing could bring him out. Toph probably would have been more effective, but she was in the Earth Kingdom trying to work out family issues. It seemed nothing was going to force the young Fire Lord from his chambers.

A month went by. Zuko still hadn't shown his face. Rumors were being spread that he had committed suicide…that he had fled the country…that it was all just a planned conspiracy…Panic ensued. The Fire Council couldn't sign any documents, treaties, make plans for trade, _anything_ without the approval of the Fire Lord. The Fire Nation was digging itself a large hole, and soon they would be completely buried in their own complications.

While Aang and Sokka had left the palace weeks earlier, Katara had stayed back to help in any way she could. Her primary job was taking care of Mai, the would-be Fire Lady had it not been for Zuko's absence. Mai was rather shaken up, not that she would ever physically show it. Her cool mask of indifference never faded, but occasionally Katara would detect the faintest trace of sorrow in those pale gold eyes. Eyes that said she'd do anything if she knew what to do.

Katara had had enough. She understood the grief Zuko was feeling; she had felt it herself when her mother had been killed. But he had responsibilities that couldn't be ignored any longer. If he didn't take control soon, anarchy would surely reign. It would be Ozai all over again.

So she broke down his door. Katara found him sitting against the wall in the corner of the vacuous room. Zuko didn't even respond to the splintered wood scattered at his feet. He just slowly looked up and stared at her with blank, hooded eyes. Katara's own eyes were a blazing sapphire, righteous determination lighting them. She marched right up to where Zuko sat and smacked him across the face. Hard. The pain in her hand made her own eyes water. Zuko slowly grazed his fingers over the tender skin of his unscarred cheek. A flicker of anger sparked in his dead eyes. "What the hell was that for?" he rasped, his voice even hoarser than usual from disuse. Katara didn't say anything. She just stared at him.

And then she was in his arms. Or rather _he_ was in _her_ arms. "I know," she whispered. " I know how much he meant to you. I know." She repeated over and over, hugging him as tight as she could. Zuko had stiffened in shock, ready to push her off him. But the warmth he felt from her, this tiny creature packed so full of life, was amazing. Mind-blowing. Like she was wrapping him in a cocoon of tenderness, of caring and understanding.

He just couldn't do it anymore. The walls he had built so high since his father's abandonment and more recently since his beloved uncle's death were crumbling down, piece by agonizing piece. The pain that had been festering inside him for so long was finally bubbling to the surface, overflowing. He wrapped his arms tighter around the girl's body, burying his face in her neck as she soothingly stroked his back. She didn't shush him. She didn't tell him that it was going to be alright. A mantra of "I know" was all that escaped her.

For how long they stayed in that room, tangled in the other's embrace, they did not know. It may have been hours or days. It didn't matter; nothing mattered. But soon enough the broken door to the Fire Lord's suite turned a few heads, and eventually the room was crowded with nurses, guards, councilmen. The entire palace staff, it seemed, had suddenly flooded into this one room, checking Zuko's condition, making sure he ate, forcing documents into his face like it was more important than the Fire Lord himself. All the while Katara kept her arms around him, helping him stand. She irritably shooed everyone out, even threatening to break limbs when some didn't comply right away. Zuko quietly chuckled to himself as she did so. It was nice to see the feisty side of the water bender after such a morbid night.

Once the last person had been shoved past the doorway, Katara turned to Zuko, struggling to find the right words to say. Finally, she just decided that frankness was the best option. "You were wrong." Zuko's answering look of confusion was enough to make her elaborate. "When you said that you were a bad person. You were wrong." Then she turned and walked down the hallway. She didn't even see his look of pure astonishment.

_"You were wrong."_

Yes, Zuko thought, yes I was. And it only took you to make me see it…

**O.o.O**

**A/N: I was feeling a little off the radar, so I decided to post something. Consider it your Christmas present. Don't worry, if you don't like it, I kept the receipt. XD Yes, I am fully aware that this is crap in literary form. I needed to test out my new found style. Please, PLEASE review. I'm tired of getting over 100 hits and NO REVIEWS. I don't care if you just put down "Hate it" or "Love it." ANYTHING is good. I'm desperate here.**

***Ahem* Anywho, Happy Holidays everyone. Aside from my rant, I hope you enjoyed this, even though it's not exactly a festive story. **

**P.S. Yes, you've seen this before. I had to re-upload it for the Zutara Contest hosted by YolandaFriella. Hope that clears up some confusion.**


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